Baking, a Love Story

Whether you have big plans, little plans or no plans, you can whip up one of these spring-y sweets to help celebrate the day. I have rated these recipes based on difficulty and time needed so you can choose the one that fits into your life.

Braided Bread Stuffed with Lemon Curd. This soft, delicate, flaky filled bread is so tangy and sweet. It is really a perfectly beautiful bread to BRING to a brunch, one that you are not hosting and you are only responsible for ONE THING. Because this one is a solid 9/10 in difficulty level (maybe a 10…let’s not mince words) and is totally worth it if you have the time and energy.

Ho, ho, ho…the holiday spirit has taken over my house as I prepare for my BIG DAY! Sunday is Cookie Delivery Day over here and I have been making TRIPLE BATCHES of most of these cookies you see here. I’ve been making double batches of my All Purpose Flour versions and one batch of my Gluten-Free flour versions so I am certainly a busy little elf.

I have provided you with a photo line-up of my cookies, and here is my Cookie Game Plan if you need that as well. Hope you are feeling rather festive yourself, and if not, just make a batch of one of these cookies, and that may just put you in the mood.

Or melt-in-your-mouth Greek Crescent Cookieswhich are buttery, rich and the best pairing to a good cup of coffee EVER!

For the chocolate lover in your group, here are my Death By Chocolate Peppermint Cookies. If you are a chocoholic and they don’t rock your holiday world, feel free to file a complaint, get your money back and sue for damages because I am 100% certain they are ALL THAT.

These Orange and Chocolate Chip Cookies with Rosemary may seem odd to you but they are honestly my most requested cookie (by adults!) at the holidays. They are tender, a bit chewy, citrus-y, and a hint of rosemary makes them special (in a good way).

AND I add these two favorites from around the blogosphere…

Flourless Peanut Butter Blossoms from Recipe Girl. You would never, ever believe these cookies don’t have flour so they are naturally Gluten-Free and are so ridiculously simple to make. They are a hit every year!

Like this:

If you are on my Christmas Cookie box delivery list then lucky you, and if you aren’t, you may want to start sending some bribes my way. I always accept bribes, usually in the form of compliments; I am a total compliment whore. Yeah, that’s right, I said it and my previous PG rating for Sweet and Crumby (S&C for those cool kids in the know) just went down the tubes. Sigh.

Raise your hand if you still have a few extra dinner rolls and some bright and tart cranberry sauce from the Big Day? Then you have most certainly come to the right place. I love homemade cranberry sauce, and eat it with gusto on Turkey day, BUT, somehow I always end up with a hefty Tupperware container of extra sauce and there are so many delicious ways you can use it. One doozy of a way to elevate this already bangin’ sauce and to finally use up those going stale dinner rolls is to make a dark chocolate and cranberry sauced bread pudding. There is nothing left-over feeling about this boozy and blinged out dessert and nothing will be going to waste in your kitchen.

Brrrr, are you all freezing out there? So sorry…I really have no clue what that is like since I am a bit chilly in sunny So. Cal. and I think the low is about 63 degrees Fahrenheit today. I know. I am a big baby. I’m spoiled…a California Girl through and through…although I don’t surf…but there’s still time yet.

If you need a little something cozy, comforting and warm to thaw you out, then dig into one of these hearty bowls of soup.

I am honest to a fault. Seriously to a fault. I always bring baked goods and then instantly blurt out ANYTHING minuscule that went awry, as if someone slipped truth serum into my coffee. My most recent admission was,..”I got wrapped up in watching re-runs of Chuck and may have left these muffins in a stitch too long.”

The pictures you see here, unfortunately, are from my last year’s post of my AP Flour pumpkin pancakes. My problem was that I kept making my delicious, fabulously soft, not gritty and very fluffy GF pumpkin pancakes and running out of time to take pictures. Life’s a bit of a bumpy ride for the moment at best (more like an unpaved road in a construction zone. See? Honest to a fault).